The Second season is the best season!
My usual horse came up lame this year, so I am not sure who I am rooting for.
I know more who I am rooting AGAINST…
World Cup!
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Italy had the lead for 30 seconds. Does not bode well.
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You needn’t have worried.
Gerrard is too old; it’s all very well to have Pirlo running a team but SG is not in that class.
Uruguay looked like a bunch of 40 something middleweight boxers brought out of retirement for one last fight to pay child maintenance.
Same for Spain - this is not a contest for old men.
Italy & England to meet again in the final?
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You needn’t have worried.
Gerrard is too old; it’s all very well to have Pirlo running a team but SG is not in that class.
Uruguay looked like a bunch of 40 something middleweight boxers brought out of retirement for one last fight to pay child maintenance.
Same for Spain - this is not a contest for old men.
Italy & England to meet again in the final?
I don’t think England has what it takes to get there by a long shot. Netherlands looked stronger than expected and they went from Darkhorse to one of the favorites after that performance. Brazil wasn’t sharp as expected despite getting the points, so we’ll have to see how they play their other group games. For me the favorites are Germany, Netherlands, and (conditionally) Brazil.
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I hope for Bosnia to advance. They playing Argentnia at the monment, but it doesn’t look like they will get even one point out of the game. We’ll see, they played 20 mins so far.
It would be a great push for Bosnia since they are first timers. :-) -
…,too bad.
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Aequitas: you watching my friend?
Good luck. Enjoy it. -
Looking forward to the USA game tonight.
Caught some very enjoyable matches over the weekend. A few of those guys lived up to the hype. Messi in particular.
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And Pirlo.
Germany are the best team so far.
Good luck guys. Hope you enjoy the game. I am not sure if I can stay up for it, as Maddy wakes about 5 hours after it is due to finish. -
Germany up 2-0 35 minutes into the match. Portugal’s gotten some chances, so it’s not over. Still plenty of time left, but they have to be feeling some pressure. And as I write this Portugal just got a red card courtesy of #3 Pepe.
Meanwhile Germany missed a shot on a wide open net, scored on a PK, and got another one off a corner. They have to be feeling good up 2 goals and up a man.
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Mueller gets the competition’s first hat-trick. Good on him.
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@wittmann:
Mueller gets the competition’s first hat-trick. Good on him.
Yes, and couldn’t have happened against a better team. :wink:
Germany proved why they’re one of the front runners to be the final team standing.
I think the result really helps USA’s chances. The goal differential is good if that’s what it comes down towards deciding which team advances, Portugal will be down some of their starters, and they could be dispirited going into the game against the Yanks. US still has to win tonight and play strongly against Portugal & Germany, but I’m feeling more confident than I did prior to this game.
Portugal kind of packed it in, even prior to the red card. And that doesn’t speak well towards their ability to bounce back. They didn’t show a lot of resiliency and I’m hoping that shows itself in their game against US.
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@wittmann:
Mueller gets the competition’s first hat-trick. Good on him.
Yes, and couldn’t have happened against a better team. :wink:
Germany proved why they’re one of the front runners to be the final team standing.
I think the result really helps USA’s chances. The goal differential is good if that’s what it comes down towards deciding which team advances, Portugal will be down some of their starters, and they could be dispirited going into the game against the Yanks. US still has to win tonight and play strongly against Portugal & Germany, but I’m feeling more confident than I did prior to this game.
Portugal kind of packed it in, even prior to the red card. And that doesn’t speak well towards their ability to bounce back. They didn’t show a lot of resiliency and I’m hoping that shows itself in their game against US.
I really hope your right about USA’s chances. I guess I’m not as confident as you, but we shall see. :-)
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That result(+4 goals) does help you.
You will be watching too, John Brown? -
The beatdown of Portugal by Germany is tremendous for the US. Especially since Portugal lose one of their best (their best player?) to the red card. Obviously they still have to play well and get a win against Ghana tonight but if Portugal is the mess they sound like they are getting at least a draw against them suddenly doesn’t seem so unrealistic. That result should only serve to also boast their confidence for the match tonight.
Of course it makes the match with Germany an utterly terrifying proposition if it weren’t already.
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@wittmann:
That result(+4 goals) does help you.
You will be watching too, John Brown?Wittman, I’m going to try to watch it, or at least part of the game. It depends on if I get everything done that I need done today.
Guys, thanks for the vote of confidence. :-)
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It is your last game though and Germany should already have 6 points. If you beat Ghana(not a given), you might be ok drawing with Portugal.
Germany might even not bother killing you, possibly even resting players.Pepe is good, but not the best player. I hate the volatile ones.(Balotelli would not make my cut.) I hate loose cannons, however talented. Would have preferred Rossi.
That said, Prandelli seems to have a calming influence on Balotelli.
We can only hope! -
@wittmann:
It is your last game though and Germany should  already have 6 points. If you beat Ghana(not a given), you might be ok drawing with Portugal.
Germany might even not bother killing you, possibly even resting players.Pepe is good, but  not the best player. I hate the volatile ones.(Balotelli would not make my cut.) I hate loose cannons, however talented. Would have preferred Rossi.
That said, Prandelli seems to have a calming influence on Balotelli.
We can only hope!LOL, yes I can only hope.
I just bought the XBOX 360 2014 World Cup Video game. It is really cool. :-D
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I’m just pointing out factors that help the American chances. Is Portugal still a good team? Yes. Does Portugal still have an advantage in talent? Yes. Is Ronaldo playing against the US and capable of creating goals almost single handedly? Yes!
US still has a hell of a climb in order to get out of the group stage. But the mountain is now more of a hill now. Sure it’s an easier path to the top, but the sides are still steep and the hill is still tall.
I saw some signs they could come out dispirited against the US. But Portugal could just as easily come out pissed off and angry and take their frustration out on the US. I could be reading too much into their play. There’s also lots of time to regain their mental balance and refocus between now and Sunday.
Still there’s no denying that a -4 GD for Portugal and them being down some players does nothing but improve the Yank’s chances. Let’s see how the game against Ghana goes. If US draws or worse loses OR if they look shaky in a win vs Ghana, then my optimism will drop below where it was prior to the Germany-Portugal game.
US may not be the most talented team in the world, let alone the group. But US has been headed in the right direction under Jurgen. USA’s beaten Mexico (@ Mexico), beaten Italy, and beaten Germany in recent years. Being ranked in the top 15 in the world is not exactly something to sneeze at.
It’s the World Cup, strange things happen. Shoot, who saw Costa Rica beating Uruguay 3-1? Netherlands 5-1 over Spain? Or France and Italy bowing out in the group stage in 2010?
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With that huge goal differential against Portugal at the moment the US has a shot at 1-1-1 especially if Germany doesn’t bother killing us. Lots of football yet to be played. US has to take care of business tonight any way you cut it. It is their best shot at three points.
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The only thing that made Italy’s exit bearable was that France went out too.
Was the only time in my memory(was 5 in 74), that Italy failed to get out of the group stage.
It is something I never want repeated.
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